#NexusOne: Social Observation

Google spoke this morning, and the world listened. The topic was the release of their first handset, Nexus One. First glance at the specs proved that it is a marginally okay device. Nothing too spectacular, nothing too revolutionary. Yet, we were all foaming at the mouth over the announcement, and are even still talking about it now!

It kind of got me thinking, why are we all so interested in gadgets? Are we all secretly lusting after the James Bond lifestyle? Or do we just get excited over something new and shiny and want to play with it regardless of its features?

I'd like to think there is a pretty simple answer to this - and it has less to do with the materialistic factor and more to do with the fact that nerdy folk are unbelievably efficient. We are constantly striving to make our lives easier, breaking down every equation to its root. If we have a problem, we fix it! If there isn't a device that is capable of executing our goal, we make one. If we don't know how to make one right away, we will certainly try and try until we've figured it out.

The excitement generated today had almost nothing to do with a handset - did anyone even ask about the call quality? And everything to do with the fact that nerds rule the world. We are hungry, and focused, and want to change things. We just need something shiny to get our attention.